CS 71 
.L42 
1909 
Copy 1 



xi^e JaWrer^ce pTii^ 




THE LAWRENCE KIN'= 

/^••^III'; mother of Abbott Lawrtnce 
L * L Lowell, tile new president of Har- 
vard I'liiversity, was Katharine B. 
Lawrence, the j'oungest child of Abbott 
Lawrence and his wife, Katharine Bige- 
low. She was born in Boston, Feb. 21, 
1832, married Augustus Lowell. June i, 
1S54, and passed away, April i, 1895. 
She was educated in the finest of Boston 
schools, and in 1849, when Abbott Law- 
rence was ajipointetl by President Zachary 
Taylor minister to England, Miss Katha- 



* The Lawrkncu Kin appeared as a signed 
article on the editorial page of tlie Boston 
Evening Transcript of January 16, igog, at the 
time of the election of Mr. Lowell to the Presi- 
dency uf Harvard University, to succeed Presi- 
dent Charles W. Eliot. Copies may be obtained 
by addressing the writer, Rev. .^nson Titus, 10 
Raymond .\venue, West Somerville, Mass. The 
Tafl Kin, an article which appeared in similar 
form in Transcript of March 4. 1909, is of the 
" Kin Series " and can also be obtained. "The 
Kin Series " treats of eminent and notable fami- 
lies who have wrought worthily in former and 
present day affairs. 



rine accompanied him. In this station at 
London Mr. Lawrence remained until 
October, 1852. These three years in 
London not only were of large value to 
the United States and all the affairs which 
concerned the two great English speaking 
nations, but to the girl entering upon 
womanhood they were years of increasing 
knowledge, of wider acquaintance and 
falmiliarity with world-wide activities. 
Mi.ss Katharine played no small part in 
the entertainments at their London house, 
and with a wise foresight and graceful tact 
made herself a most valuable a.ssistant to 
her parents. Returning to Boston in 1852, 
she brought a greater admiration for New 
England and all which made her nation 
strong. She was a patriot in her love for 
her native land, and was not backward in 
its exemplification. 

In 1854, when twenty-two years of age, 
she became the bride of Augustus Lowell, 
a man every way suited to her beautiful 
character and exemplary life. Not long 
after their marriage the health of her hon- 
ored father began to fail, and in August, 
1855, occurred his death. Abbott Law- 
rence was born in Groton in 1792, the son 



3 

of Major vSaimiel Lawrence. From the 
father lie iuherited an integrity and loy- 
alty to principle which made the latter 
eminent during the years of the American 
Revolution. Abbott and his older brother, 
Amos Lawrence, when young men, came 
to Boston, and in a modest way began 
business, having served apprenticeship 
with older firms. 

In 1814 their place of business was at 
No. 15 Market street (now Cornhill), "on 
the north side of the alley leading down 
the steps to Brattle Street Church." After- 
wards the firm removed to No. 11 Liberty 
square, and soon to " Lawrence Block," on 
Milk street. By 1830 this mercantile house 
ranked with the ablest and best. Their in- 
terests reached rapidly towards the cotton 
mills of Lowell and Lawrence, which from 
that time forth have been famous. Amos 
Lawrence retired early from active busi- 
ness, and after many benefactions to Wil- 
liams and other colleges, died in December, 
1852; and his son, Amos Adams Lawrence, 
with Lawrence business sagacity, after a 
training at Harvard College, became a 
captain of industry and an ardent lover of 
education and of human rights. He was 



4 

the founder of Lawrence Universitj', Apple- 
ton, Wis. (his wife was Sarah Appletou), 
a benefactor of many interests in Law- 
rence, Kan., for manj- 3'ears treasurer of 
the Episcopal Theological vSchool at Cam- 
bridge, and a half-donor of Lawrence Hall. 
His benefactions were numerous. 

Abbott Lawrence entered into partner- 
ship with his brother Amos in 1814. He 
rendered valued service to the Government 
during the war of i Si 2- 15, and the war 
was no sooner over than he sailed for Man- 
chester, Eng., attending to an important 
negotiation. He immediately returned and 
sold his newly purchased goods at a large 
profit. Thereafter he made other business 
trips to England and the Continent. The 
firm soon became interested in the Suffolk, 
Lawrence and Tremont cotton mills com- 
panies. Increasing business cares did not 
prevent him from public duties. He served 
Boston in its Council chamber and was in 
Congress at Washington for a term. He 
was one of a committee to determine the 
"northeastern boundary" between Maine 
and Canada, and was active with Mayor 
Quincy in introducing Cochituate water 
into Boston in 184S. In 1S47 he founded 



5 
the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard 
University, and as his last service after de- 
clining the offices of Secretar}- of the Navy 
and Secretary of the Interior, he accepted 
the post of minister to England. He died 
in 1855. The highest encomiums were 
paid to his memory by those who knew 
him best, and the many who knew of his 
gracious bounties. His character shone 
forth and became ideal in the minds of 
business men and lovers of mankind. 

The record of the descendants of Major 
Samuel Lawrence was published a few 
years ago by Dr. Robert Means Lawrence 
of Boston. This history enters in a most 
modest wa}' into the family history, and 
in many instances more could have been 
written concerning its members. The sons 
of the family have most loyally attached 
themselves to Harvard University, as 
members of the student body, not forget- 
ting their alma mater in the years follow- 
ing. The daughters of the family have 
been carefully educated in the public and 
private schools of Boston, Cambridge, and 
Brookline. 

The family has been faithful to Law- 
rence Academy at Groton, and no small 



factor in making it an eminent fitting 
school. Among the descendants of Major 
Samuel Lawrence who are kinsmen of 
Abbott Lawrence Lowell, the newly hon- 
ored man of Harvard University, we recall 
Dr. Samuel Abbott Green, the honored 
librarian of the Massachusetts Historical 
Society and formerly mayor of Boston ; 
Bishop William Lawrence, for a series of 
years rendering parochial services, then 
professor in the Theological School at 
Cambridge, and the man among man)' to 
be regarded as able to bear the duties of 
bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in Massachusetts, succeeding the much la- 
mented Phillips Brooks. The late Francis 
William Lawrence was deeply interested in 
the New England Conservatory of I\Insic, 
and his chief personal delight was found in 
his service for the Church of Our Savior, 
Longwood. Arthur Lawrence, Harvard, 
1863, went into the Union Army, and after 
training in a theological school and in 
parochial service in New York city, became 
rector in 1872 of St. Paul's Church, Stock- 
bridge, where he renders quiet and effec- 
tive service for the Church, refusing in- 
ducements to enter upon its more engross- 



/ 
ing affairs. Abbott Lawrence Rotch, Mas- 
sachusetts Institute of Technology, 1884, 
is a student of Meteorology of no mean re- 
pute and founder of Blue Hill Meteoro- 
logical Observatory. The ability of Aniory 
Appleton Lawrence, elder brother of the 
Bishop, in the world of business reflects 
the e.Kecutive skill of their eminent grand- 
father. Dr. I^obert Means Lawrence of 
Harvard, 1869, and the Medical School, 
1873, after extensive journeys in home and 
foreign lands in investigating problems as 
only a physician can, settled at bis country 
seat in Le.xington. He is a member of the 
leading literary societies, and his publica- 
tions are of large value and interest. 

The names of the Lawrence family of 
no distant kinship with President Lowell 
are numerous, and yet other names are 
equally known to the business, literary 
and social circles. The intermarriages 
are not without interest. The names in- 
clude Adams, Appleton, Amory, Rigelow, 
Brooks, Cunningham, Loring, Peabody, 
Hemenway, Saltonstall and Silsbee. To be 
well born and nurtured is a fine thing. The 
high encomiums paid the newly honored 
member of the family are just what a per- 



son would expect, and which people have a 
right to look for. A noble ancestry and 
association with cultured and sturdy men 
and women should produce the noblest 
type of citizens. 

The Transcript of Aug. i8, 1905, had the 
following brief tribute from an esteemed 
correspondent, J. E. T. : "Just fifty years 
ago today Boston lost one of her most 
prominent citizens and this country one of 
the noblest men it has ever produced. Not 
a line is necessary to eulogize his memory. 
His name is sufficient. It was Abbott 
Lawrence." 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



018 717 129 5 



